This is a beautiful Bible to use as you seek to enjoy God’s Word. It is also specifically crafted for the task of preaching. This particular edition of the ESV Preaching Bible is verse-by-verse style, as each verse of the text is lined up to the left side of the page. This means you don’t look at paragraphs when you read this Bible; rather, your eyes quickly go to individual verses that you are seeking to find. So a plus of this Bible is that if you use it to read out loud in a small group or use it during teaching and preaching, the verses you are looking for to read for everyone are very quick to find and easy to read.
I have used this Bible as I have taught a Bible class and as I have read Scripture on stage at church. I have found it very useful for these ministry tasks. My eyes quickly find the verse that I am looking for because each number is aligned to the left of the page. The font is a good size, 9.75-point, which also aids in finding and reading the verse that you need. Plus, it looks and feels so good!
For personal reading with this Bible, it may take me a little time to get used to having each verse on the left side. I have read the Bible most of my life in paragraph form, so it is different. Also, when you get to the poetry, such as the Psalms or Job, this Bible reads quite differently than most of the Bibles I have opened in the past. This bible is also big and commanding in size, and slightly floppy, so it can be saggy and heavy when trying to hold the Bible up in one hand. But as you hold it to read out loud, it does make you feel like, “Yes! I am holding a premium, substantial, and significant Bible here!”
The materials used to make this Bible are very nice. It has very soft, quality goatskin leather for a cover, which looks and feels great. It also smells so good coming out of the box! The paper also feels like it is quality design as you flip pages. The Bible lays down nice and flat on a desk, so if you are a Bible marker, like me, you can easily write, circle, and underline. I can see myself in the future taking lots of notes in the generous margins and even writing in between the lines a bit. The sides of this Bible also look very sharp. The pages are designed with a sort of gold combined with red color as you fan them out. Very nice!
